The Dominion of Men
by Hunter117
Summary: Middle earth is unstable. Once great relationships between races are beginning to crumble under the inevitable age of Man. Hatred and plotting are common throughout, the Men of the North fight among themselves, threatening to undermine even the kingdoms of the south and in the dark corners of the world, evil is returning. But is it the evil of a defeated enemy, or man itself?
1. Prologue: The End of Days

**EDIT- apparently something is wrong with the description of the story. It is sometimes not displaying every word despite my efforts to re add the words and save.**

**Hey everyone!**

**I think I can say that like many people at the moment, the recent viewing of "the desolation of Smaug" has rekindled the love of middle earth, and so, I am writing this.**

**Whats it all about you hear you ask?**

**I want to create a story fairly original in middle earth. I want to create a story not with the main characters doing something completely different that they did in the original story. I want a story in which we investigate the happenings of other things occurring in middle earth. It is because of this that I am not setting my story during the time of the Lord of the Rings but at a other time. **

**In all, Im hoping for a story in which we see middle earth exposed to themes not seen in the book/movie like the political themes from Game of Thrones or the adventures of someone not connected to the ring, or the war at all for that matter.**

**I hope you stick around to see my story develop for Middle Earth is a rich and large world to play around with and im excited to let you see what I come up with.**

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_Year- 729- The Fourth Age_

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It was said that the Fourth Age was to be the dominion of Men, but no one could have suspected it would be like this. No one could have suspected that Middle-Earth would once again be at war.

Even as arrows and rocks flew over the walls of Minas Tirth, there were still some refusing that all of this was happening. These were the people who believed that their lives would be saved, and why wouldn't they? They were the light battling against this attacking, evil darkness.

But no one would come. No all powerful force would arrive to save them and to defeat the evil, as had happened through out history. For this was because there was no darkness present here today, and there was certainly no light present on either side. This was simply a battle between two sides. Two opposing ideologies fighting against each over. Although this time the defenders still thought they were in the right, that they were the good battling against evil.

Though what these people could not understand was that these very beliefs were ones that most likely shared with the attackers. They also believed that what they were doing was the right thing to do.

And so the two armies of Men continued to battle against each other, the present battle of Minas Tirth rivalling the brutality and loss of life only seen in these parts way back in the final days on the War of the Ring. And while the similar belief that in some way, good will always triumph over evil, was still present, unlike those days, these beliefs would not save them. The very people who believed there were the good in this world would perish and the hands of those who did not care for the concept of good and evil.

Eventually, hours went by. The defenders of Minas Tirth were slowly driven back, one level of the great fortress city at a time. Though the defenders had been putting up a courageous fight, for in their ranks were the remaining members of the last surviving elves of Middle-earth. Their wisdom and skill in battle were once renowned throughout the land, but against their foe today, it mattered little. The Men they fought today were certainly no rabble of mindless Orcs, nor were they the unskilled Men they had been fighting over the last few decades. These Men were some of the most skilled and disciplined in the whole of Arda. For the fist time in a long time, Humanity was the most powerful race in the land. Not even the reunited kingdoms under King Elessar at the beginning of the Fourth Age could compare to the might of the Kingdoms of today. Combined with a race that was once considered hated by all, the idea that the defenders could win today was laughable, for there was no place to hide from Dragon fire. The remaining great beasts had, somehow, allied with the Human attackers. And as fire and other missiles rained upon the higher levels, from both the captured lower levels and from the air, a man, ageing in his late sixties saw what he could from his position by the White Tree. He dared not look down to the lower levels or venture to the edge of rock summit in fear that he may be seen and fired upon.

So the man ran back into the citadel and into his private study room. For him, hope was lost. Soon enough that attackers would breach the gate and flood into the seventh level, burning the White tree and desecrating the sacred Houses of the Dead.

He opened a large book and turned a few pages. It was all here. The tragic and unheard story of how it all came to this. Even though he would die today, he would not leave this world without some sort of legacy. His legacy would be this book. He had written all he knew about the build up to this day. It was a story not at all different from the battle today. Even at the start of this story, the fight between good and evil was not a defining factor of the tale. It was one of the nature of Man himself, the impacts the presence of Humanity had in this world and the tragic story of how the dominion of Men came in fire and blood.

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**There you have it!**

**Not a lot to go by, that's for sure.**

**As this chapter was a prologue, and one set in the future of the story for that matter, future chapters will be in a totally different setting than this.**

**I cant give away too much yet, but as the end of this chapter said, this story will be focused on the affairs of humanity and how they reached this point. Also, as said in this chapter as well, it wont be too focused on good vs evil. Im sure the peoples of middle earth didn't just sit around until some evil popped up. There is a lot to be shown about the relations between various races and how characters live in a world where once evil and dangerous magic etc was a regular thing.**

**And as I have just possibly spoiled the time of the next chapter, I will leave you (hopefully) waiting for the next chapters which (again hopefully) will be up soon!**

**Thanks for reading!**


	2. An Unexpected Adventure

**Welcome back!**

**Here is my first proper chapter in the story and as such will be a nice introduction to one of my main characters.**

**Not much else to say really, apart from one thing. I will now say that I do not have the greatest knowledge of the Tolkien universe. Yes, I've seen the movies (too many times actually) and have read the books but not enough to know the details that are not in the movies. As such I may get a lot of things wrong when it comes to the lore of Middle Earth so please don't start raging and wishing my story be deleted for my heresy against Tolkien, simply correct my error in a review or message and I will be happy to rectify the issue if I can. I am writing this story to be read and I don't want anyone to be unhappy in what I write so feel free to have some input and help me set things right. **

**Now that I've warned you I will let you read on. Enjoy: D**

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_TA-2221_

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The light from the fire flickered on the trees that surrounded the campfire and the smoke from the flames rose high into the sky.

It was cold and dark that night. Clouds had hidden both the stars and the moon from the world ensuring that the small campfire was the only beacon of light in the middle of the dark forest. It wasn't only light that was a rarity that cold night for not even the animals of the forest made their voices known, only the crackle of the fire making its presence known.

As the flames burned away its collected wood, sitting on a large stone next to the fire, a man tried to keep himself warm. The man, named Duryn, had been on the run, alone, for near a month now. Now, as he stared deep into the fire, he felt the great regret of what he did.

Duryn had lived a relatively normally life for the twenty five years of his life. Living in a small hamlet just east for Bree was not full of surprises or many otherwise exciting moments. He had worked on his Fathers farm for as long as he could remember, ensuring that he was now a well-built young man. But day after day of sowing and harvesting the fields did not do wonders when it came to quenching his thirst for adventure. Duryn wanted an exciting life, so one day his bid his farewells to his parents and set off to Bree in hopes that he may find something, anything exciting there.

It turned out that Duryn got to experience adventure just a few nights into his walk to Bree. But this was not the parts of adventure that included saving pretty women from terrifying beasts and nor was it travelling through unknown and breath-taking parts of the world as part of an epic quest. No, Duryn's experience of adventure took the form of survival in the wilderness. He soon realised that he had not eaten properly for days now, and soon enough, hunger would take him and his adventure could be halted, permanently. Though Duryn had never given thought to what seemed such an insignificant and apparently simple aspect of the adventure. Not because he was a simple man, but quite the opposite. Duryn, was in fact, a fairly intelligent man for both his age and life style. He may have lived on a farm all of his life but it was never said that Duryn was not a logical and curious person. As often as he could, he read whatever book he could find in his neighbours houses and the village hall, and he always forced himself to take and listen to advice from those old enough to give it. So it was because of this that Duryn thought that simply finding food to survive on would be a simple task, not worth giving extra thought to. Combined with his expertise with growing crops he thought he would be an expert in what plants and vegetation would be edible.

But alas, he was wrong. Duryn had never ventured off into the wilderness before and as such, had little to no knowledge in what some plants even were, deep in the wild. Neither was he a good hunter. Any animal he attempted to catch for food had either ran away from his lack of hunting experience, or was too small to be part of a needed meal.

Yet luckily for Duryn, Bree was not far and he managed to get there in one piece, albeit starved and exhausted. Soon enough, Duryn quickly forgot his bad experiences in the wild, and quickly began to enjoy and sights and sounds of Bree. To him, someone coming from such a small and quiet place, found the scale and business of Bree astounding, despite Bree not actually being that large.

Though Duryn's bad fortune had not left him alone yet. Bree, being all knew and exciting to Duryn, was just begging to be sampled and as such, Duryn spent all of his long stored and collected money on trivial and foolish decisions. He drank nights away, stayed in expensive inns and brought only the finest foods. It was only when the flow of coin came to an end that Duryn realised how stupid he had been. But he did not really know anyone to help him, and neither did he have any other experience than farming to earn money. So he resorted to the only thing one as desperate as he would do. He stole and resorted to crime to keep him alive. It was a profitable business while it lasted as well. He managed to steal enough food to keep him alive through the nights and even managed to "find" a well-made short sword while infiltrating someone's house. Though it was short lived. Guards became aware of his antics and were on constant lookout for him, even putting up posters for his capture.

Duryn had to leave. He took as much stolen food as he could and ran, once again testing his survival skills in the wilderness, perhaps in great part to the horse he had stolen, allowing him to make greater progress in a day in order to reach the next town or village for food. But as he knew when he debated becoming a horse thief, the prize for his capture rose dramatically and thus, he become almost hunted where ever he went, ensuring that he be careful whenever he was near civilisation.

And this is where he was now. Eleven months on from leaving home and deep in a forest east of the once great city of Fornost, or so someone had said at the last village he passed through.

The plan now was the same as the last few weeks, Survive through the night, get to the next village and repeat until he got far enough to not be searched for.

So Duryn sat there, rubbing his hands together and placing them near the fire to keep them warm on a cold night. The quest to keep warm on this night was the only thing he cared about currently and he attempted to do so for the best part of an hour, which seemed to drag on. Duryn decided it would be best to stay awake, no matter how cold it was, so that he could see the fire settle down and not be such a sign of his presence. He did not want to be asleep when someone saw he fire and decided to investigate. That was suicide.

And then he heard it. Rustling of leaves in the distance. Duryn's eyes began to frantically scan his surroundings, naturally fearing an ambush. His hand instinctively found its way to the grip of his sword as the sounds grew louder and closer. Suddenly, bursting out of the darkness that surrounded his camp clearing, came a horse and its hooded rider. Fearing that this new arrival may be hunting for the bounty placed upon his head, Duryn stood up quickly and retreated a few steps, his hand all the time remaining on his sword should the situation for it arise.

Though the hooded man did not try and ride Duryn down, but instead opted to climb of his horse, with no great haste, and tied the animal to a nearby rock, again in no hurry. Duryn was left confused in the actions of this man. The stranger did not seem at all interested in Duryn and it even seemed that the man was totally oblivious to Duryn's presence.

"You!" Duryn finally decided to say, now both fed up and confused of the man's lack of acknowledgement of him. "Friend or foe?" Duryn asked, determined to know if this man was sent out to capture him.

A short pause then followed as the man finished tying up his horse and then finally turned to face Duryn. "Well neither my dear fellow" he said as he hid his face under his hood. "You are not my enemy but nor are you my friend. We have only just met after all." He said with what appeared to be a smile. It was hard for Duryn to get a good look at the man's face with the hood covering most of it.

"Met? It almost seemed like you did not notice me." Duryn replied but to no answer in return. The man only stared at him in a silent reply.

"What are you doing here?" asked Duryn, waiting a few seconds for an answer that never came.

"I saw your fire" the man replied emotionlessly. Yet this was not an answer that complied with Duryn's demands. He needed to know if his life was in danger or not.

"And now you have reached your destination or not? Have you found what you were looking for?" Duryn said, referring to if this man had now found the criminal he was hunting.

To these questions the man did not reply, but instead looked confused. Duryn would need to resort to other tactics if he were to discover this man true intent.

"What is your name stranger?" asked Duryn.

"My name?" the stranger replied, moving towards Duryn. "My name is Varius" he said as he lowered his hood revealing his face. His dark thick hair had been cut short allowing a full view of his stubble covered oval yet strong jawed face to be seen. His eyes as well almost seemed as dark as his hair, totally contrasting to Duryn's longer, sandy coloured hair.

"And what is your name? I think I deserve that same privilege" the stranger now known as Varius said.

For a second, Duryn held his tongue. This Varius was most likely withholding his true intent from Duryn and instead was opting to play the fool in hope of Duryn himself confirming that this person who Varius has found is in fact, the thief he is hunting.

"If the horse is what you want, take it! Just take it back and be gone!" Duryn said in a desperate attempt to appeal to this man's good will.

A quizzed face then appeared on the face of Varius, looking to the horse that Duryn had stolen. "Well selling the beast would fetch me a nice profit" he said as he walked back to his horse. "But keeping it would be a wise investment. This old nag has caused me nothing but trouble ever since I acquired him." The stranger Varius said, patting his horse.

"Then take it! I wish no ill will between us." Duryn cried, sick of the game that Varius was probably playing.

"And I wish for just that same desire." He said, seemingly confused in what Duryn was saying.

"And yet you have come here, seeking me! If not just the horse then whatever supplies I have. Take them!" Judging the way this was going, Varius had come seeking the bounty on Duryn's head. This is why he was here and this is what he was going to get, no matter how many things Duryn was freely offering him.

"Yes. That's right" Varius said, the same face of confusion still present as he sat down atop a rock next to the fire, prompting Duryn to suddenly recoil and step away from him. Varius's head then suddenly shot up at the sound of Duryn trying to get away from him. "What is this? Your behaviour is quite unusual stranger" he said, still apparently confused.

"Well wouldn't yours be when the person opposite has finally found what they have been seeking for?" Duryn replied.

"No. I don't think I would." Duryn was shocked. This Varius had just basically told Duryn that he did not care for what Duryn was feeling. Most likely the case was this man had killed so many people, or did it without a strand of thought, he saw the victim as a mere object about to be removed from the world. "I have not offended you have I?" Varius said.

"Pardon?" Duryn replied confused, now only expecting a sharp object to be embedded in his flesh.

"You seem to be unsure of my presence ever since I arrived. And you still haven't told me your name" Varius replied.

Again Duryn refrained himself was speaking. Questions now flooded the mind of Duryn, each considering the possibilities of the true intent of Varius. Surely if he were truly hunting Duryn than his name would undoubtedly be one of familiarity to Varius. Rarely was it that a bounty hunter did not know the name of his target less he would not have the ability to ask others about his target. Though the chance that he was simply trying to get Duryn himself to confirm that he was the target was still a very real one.

"Its…it's…my name is…" Duryn found himself saying.

"Well? Is something the matter?" Varius asked, staring at Duryn, and then, at that point, the questions that were previously plaguing Duryn's mind dispersed, replaced by just one possibility. Was this man after him at all?

"Duryn. My name is Duryn" he said slowly. In that sentence Duryn knew he had convoyed a degree of sadness in his voice, for were he to be wrong in his current presumption of this man, then this was most likely the end for him.

"Then well met Duryn" Varius said before turning to the fire.

And then, silence. Only the crackling of the flames the sole noise once more. Now it was Duryn's turn to be the burden of confusion. There he was, standing there and staring at the man that was supposed to either capture or kill him.

But neither of these things were even attempted.

As Varius continued to try and warm himself up beside the fire, Duryn was left confused and waiting for an attack that should be happening any moment now. Varius now knew that his search had been successful and now all that remained was the apprehension or killing of Duryn himself but alas, even as minutes past, Varius did not look like he was even entertaining the idea. He made no visual signs of preparing to strike and even more confusingly, he paid little to no attention to Duryn himself, almost negating Duryn from his mind and acting like he was the sole person here.

"Well?" Duryn said, finally breaking this uncomfortable silence. If this were to be the end of the road for him, then he would not go out ignorant to the true nature of this man.

"Well what?" Varius said in almost shock.

"Aren't you going to do what you do?" Duryn replied, not at all comfortable with the fact he was literally telling someone to possibly kill him.

"Excuse me?" Varius replied, squinting in confusion.

"Isn't this why you are here? For me?" Duryn was quite annoyed now at the fact that his possible death was been delayed in a cruel act that kept tension high for him.

"Well, not exactly for you" Varius said.

"What do you mean by that?" Duryn inquired.

"Well I can't keep warm by being with another person can I?" laughed Varius.

And then, like an arrow finding its target in his chest, Duryn suddenly realised the true meaning behind this meeting full of tension. "So you did not come here specifically for me?" Duryn slowly said, eagerly awaiting for the answer he knew to be true.

"Of course not my friend!" again laughed Varius. "Your fire was of great relief to this soon to be frozen body. Although since you made the fire I presume you could say I have come for you." Varius finished smiling.

"I-I just thought you had been looking for me" said a now very relieved Duryn, a small laugh escaping his mouth

"Ha!" laughed along Varius. "Why would I be searching for you friend? We had yet to meet but ten minutes ago?" Varius said, laughing once more, to which Duryn could not help himself partaking in. This had just been a whole misunderstanding.

So Duryn still stood there, but unlike a minute ago, when he was preparing for his death and savouring his last few moments of a short lived life, he now stood there happy and relieved for the fact that this man meant no harm to him, even not knowing that the man named Duryn was in fact, a wanted criminal.

But it was then, when Duryn looked back at Varius, when he realised that he was still awaiting an answer for a question he had asked. But Duryn would not obviously be telling the truth in this point in time. Greed might make this newly discovered peaceful intending man to an opportunistic predator wanting the bounty on Duryn's head.

"It matters not…." Said Duryn dismissively.

"As you wish. I'm just glad I finally found a fire" happily proclaimed Varius. "I doubt even dragon fire could keep a man warm on a night such as this." He said, rubbing his hands together over the fire.

And thus for just a brief moment, Duryn, for the first time in a long time, felt happy. Truth be told, his position had not really advanced. He was not better off than he was a few minutes ago and the fear that he would still be found by actual hunters was still very real yet the very fact that for once, good news was not a totally foreign aspect to him. He was, for now at least, happy.

"Aren't you going to sit down? Come sit by the fire less you freeze to death" Varius said, ripping Duryn from his moment of bliss.

"Of course" smiled Duryn, remembering he wasn't alone. "It is quite cold tonight isn't it?" asked Duryn, now ready to initiate conversation with someone who actually wasn't wanting him dead.

"Indeed. Now you understand why I am so relieved to have met you, which begs the question. Why did I find you here? I am told this forest is travelled by many a traveller heading for Bree. Is that your destination friend?" Asked Varius.

This was a question to be careful on if there ever was one. Duryn had dismissed the possibility that this man was a bounty hunter and thus now did not believe this question would be yet another attempt to personally get Duryn to confirm is presence here, so Duryn would have to choose his words with delicate care.

"Yes. That is right" Duryn replied prompting a nod from Varius. "Do you mind if I ask you some questions as well. We have the time after all" asked Duryn. A normal conversation nowadays was as rare as a normal day in which someone wasn't trying to kill him.

"Hm but of course!" gleefully smiled Varius "I suppose you are wondering who exactly I am? Or are my social skills so inadequate that such questions are not the norm during a meeting of two new acquaintances?" Duryn smiled in return, quite enjoying the sense of humour of this man.

"I am relieved to tell you that you are correct" Duryn smiled in return.

"Well then you may be disappointed that this is the case, for my life has not exactly been one of adventure and thrill" Varius said in a disappointed tone.

"I can relate to that quite well. The same can be said about my life also" sadly replied Duryn, remembering that such a life had caused him to be in the mess originally.

"If that is indeed so, you may also know that I have now discarded my previous husk of a life and have ventured out to fulfil a new one" Varius stated, allowing a sapling of some sort of connection between the two young men to spawn.

"Now that does sound quite familiar" smiled Duryn in return, feeling that by rare chance, he had met someone not at all different from himself.

A suddenly, after a brief moment of silence, a spontaneous laugh emerged from both men, almost demonstrating physic like abilities to read each other's minds.

"I'm glad I found you Varius. Already have you uplifted my spirit!" Duryn managed to say as he slowed his laughter to a stop.

"You forget my friend!" Varius replied in continued laughter, almost struggling to finish his sentence. "For it was I who found you!" he said, spurting a new burst of laughter between the two.

"Ha-ha, very true my friend!" replied Duryn.

"Ha! In fact, if I remember correctly so, you did not seem to want me here!" Again laughed Varius.

Both continued laughing after this remark but within Duryn's streak of laughter, he could not help himself let loose a brief moment of nervous laughter. The awkward moment that transpired just a few minutes ago was already causing guilt within Duryn, an act that Varius possibly seeked to exploit in some sort of a revenge against a decision that nearly cost him a place by the fire via a decision to evict him from Duryn.

But despite this uncomfortable moment in time, it was quickly dispersed when Duryn gave chase to the idea that, should agreeable talk continue, he could result in a friend and ally, both things long yearned by Duryn. Where a friend is a friend and could provide Duryn Company on those days in which he felt particularly alone, an ally would be extremely useful given his current situation. A companion could assist him when he needed a distraction to evade guards, for example.

"Say Varius" Duryn said, gaining said person's attention. "That night is long and cold but I may have just the thing to outlast it" Duryn began as he stood up.

"I don't know whether I should be excited or cautious" smiled Varius.

"You have nothing to worry about friend" smiled Duryn in return as he began to walk over to his back pack where within it, was a very expensive bottle of Mead which he had stolen a while back and was saving it for a far more happier occasion.

"It's in here somewhere" said Duryn as he began to delve deep into his back.

"Ah! Here it is!" he said, bringing out a very decent bottle of mead. "I've been saving this for a day like this" Duryn continued as he gazed upon the label of one of his most treasured stolen objects. "Say Varius, I wonder if-"but before he could even invite Varius to sample the mead, Duryn suddenly stopped. His sentence could not be finished.

In his lower back, a pain so sharp and cold struck, completely removing the ability to make any audible noise. All breath within him shot out in one quick gasp, and left him a frozen figure, only a pain like he had never felt before.

Nothing else then mattered. The mead he was so eager to try was dropped onto the grass beneath him, and a desperate attempt to turn around and see the cause of this pain was attempted. Though this could not be achieved. With no prior warning, a horrifying slicing noise came from behind him followed by a pain that Duryn could have never imagined existed prior.

With this, Duryn simply collapsed onto the cold ground, the ice cold pain following him all the way. As he hit the ground this pain was only multiplied. The shock Duryn felt as he hit the ground could only be translated into one large and echoing scream that reached into the night. Hell then took over Duryn.

Gone was the sudden piercing pain the rendered Duryn immobile. A constant, ever increasing pain only remained, made only worse with the continued thrashing and screaming that Duryn made.

Primitive instincts then took over. The urge to found out what was wrong with his body was the first of such instincts. Were his mind in the right place and his sense returned to him, he may have easily realised what was the matter, but in this moment of pain and shock, Duryn's hand only found its way to the area of his lower back that the excruciating pain seem to originate.

It was then when, despite being in a stage of shock in which confusion and fear reigned king, Duryn realised what had happened. The ground, and Duryn's hand, was stained red with the warm red liquid that Duryn knew was his blood. He had been stabbed.

The stabbing wound was at the moment only producing both a cold pain that was only making the thrashing of Duryn's body more vigorous, and thus, more painful. This vicious cycle was allowing the stab wound to only open up, allowing even more blood and pain to flow out.

Duryn's eyes flickered around, scanning his surrounding area in a desperate attempt to discover what was happening. This perhaps was a decision that, given a calmer and less painful situation, was one that he probably did not wish to have known.

Towering above him, with bloodied hands and a sharp knife, now red with Duryn's blood, was the person that had caused enough confusion today.

Varius looked down upon the bleeding of body of Duryn whose blood now dripped down the knife that had brought him down.

"W-w-w-why?" was the sobbing response that Duryn could manage as he knew he was now dying.

"Oh I think you know why" Varius replied coldly. "When did you steal that then?" he continued, pointing the red knife towards the bottle of mead.

And so Duryn knew that the biggest mistake of his life had been made a few minutes ago. Varius was searching for Duryn, and because he had let his guard down to someone he thought harmless, had now caused his soon to be death.

"B-b-but y-you said-"cried Duryn, words that probably sounded desperate and cowardly only coming out of his mouth.

"That I did not know who you were? All lies in afraid" Varius replied, a cold and evil smile slowly appearing on the face of the murderer. Duryn saw this and the flood gates for his tears were opened. He had been betrayed and now, he was going to die. He would not even be able to say one last goodbye to everyone he loved.

"Fear not Duryn, for not all I spoke was false. You were not alone when it came to our lives. I seek my own adventure as well." Varius said in what was most likely a false and put on voice of sadness and pity.

"T-t-then why d-did you d-do this?" Duryn managed to say.

"Well I needed to start somewhere. Adventures art cheap" Varius laughed. This remark in turn led to the intrusion to Duryn's inventory sack, presumingly searching for anything that could fetch Varius a high price. "You're lucky you lasted this long Duryn, those fools of bounty hunters were so close to catching you in that last village back" the treacherous Varius continued, throwing objects he deemed unworthy of selling behind him. "Aren't you going to ask how they didn't Duryn? Varius said to the dying, finally turning his head to him as he briefly restrained himself from his spiteful robbery.

Duryn did not want to respond. Why should he humour this honourless man with a response?

"W-why?" sobbed Duryn as he lay in a pool of his own blood and wished for darkness to overtake him.

"Because of the man who finally did the deed, so to speak. Me!" Varius said as a smile so large appeared on his face that almost showed that a man who Duryn almost wished him a friend did not notice the atrocity that had been committed. "They served their purpose well. I may not have found you without their 'assistance' "he said with a gleeful smile as he turned towards Duryn shortly before resuming his searching.

This continued for at least the next few minutes, but Duryn did not care for it, not now. He could feel the life flow out of him, quite literally in this instance. His eyes began to close, possibly for the last time. His mind drifted to the treasured memories of his childhood. Memories of his family and friends, his childhood adventures of searching for evil orcs and trolls, all precious moments in his life came rushing back to him, to his last moments of this life.

"Hey! Hey Duryn!" Varius called, seemingly concerned for Duryn's detraining condition. "Don't die on me now friend. Bleeding out isn't so good when I need to collect a bounty. I need to end your life myself."

In this sentence, Duryn hoped for something more than what was said. Gone was the hope that Varius would actually let Duryn go in as much peace as possible, to actually be with him as he passed away and not to further humiliate and torture him with cruel remarks that suggested that his lust for blood had yet to be fulfilled and this he needed to once more cause Duryn more physical pain.

Seeing Duryn weep once again but relaxing all the while, as if to embrace death, Varius walked over to Duryn and put a hand on his shoulder. "Fear not Duryn, for what life you have lived has been well lived. Yes, you may have been felled by my blade, and long before your time, but you have lived a life simple enough in that you do have regrets. Unlike some" he said, lowering his head.

"B-but, but I do have …..One regret" Duryn said through gritted teeth.

"Oh?" said Varius.

"I did not finish my adventure" Duryn said. This was far from the life he would have chosen. Far from it.

"No, you did" Varius replied, hope oddly within his voice, prompting a glance from Duryn. "As you are most likely aware, this is the end for you, but as one life end, another begins. Just as when a wolf kills so that it may eat and survive." Varius said as he stood up again. "Close your eyes Duryn. You do not want to die with my face the last thing on your mind"

And so, he did. However tragic this day was, and whatever mistakes were made, the truth was that his death was imminent, and his thoughts were best placed somewhere else, somewhere better.

"Hm, this sword may be useful. Thank you Duryn, in many ways other than just this" Varius's words were not clear on that cold night. Duryn did not even attempt to ponder over them. Even as his sword was thrust deep into his heart he avoided thinking of the man that had ended both his adventure and life. As he felt his mind leave his body he gave one last thought to the only thing that ever mattered to him. Adventure.

And so Duryn left this world. Gone to where the souls of Men now reside.

Duryn's adventure had ended. Varius's had just begun.

* * *

**There you have it!**

**Quite misleading hey? No Duryn (not said in the same was as Durin) is not the main character, Varius is.**

**This chapter was not that lore or plot heavy but instead more of a character introduction one so no worries that future chapters won't be so unimportant in the grand scheme.**

**Last thing to say. I know much story hasn't been posted yet, but I would still appreciate any reviews. How you think the story is going so far, how my writing is going etc.**

**Also, as you've seen, im not great at updating fast, but since these last few weeks have been busy, hopefully the next one won't be long coming.**

**Until next time.**


	3. Reigniting

**Welcome back everyone!**

**We are hopefully now steaming ahead with the plot, even though we are still at the beginning. Can't wait to see the main characters journey from this chapter to the things I have planned.**

**Also, because I have not found any decent material regarding currencies in middle earth, I will make my own up. Message me or say in a review if you have any ideas but for now I am going for a universally accepted currency of Gold, silver and copper. I will say 100 coppers in a single silver piece, and 100 silvers in a golden piece. Additionally the trading of goods, minerals and jewels will also be accepted (something the Dwarves have a lot of)**

**On a completely unrelated note, did any see the Game of Thrones S4 trailer? Oh my…**

* * *

A bag of twenty three golden pieces.

Two Horses.

A sword.

Countless inventory items to be sold.

And that soon to be given reward.

Varius had been lucky in his acquirements as of late. It was not long ago that he thought, despite the removal of rival bounty hunters, his lack of transportation to the target would only increase the chances that he would not reach it first. It was only because of some careless bandit trying to ride Varius down with his horse, that Varius could kill the bandit and take the horse for himself, this allowing movement to the target to speed up. It was not a good horse though, but with a successful hunt, he had now acquired a far higher quality steed.

Varius had to admit, it was quite the horse as well. Highly muscled but not enough of it to affect its endurance, and beautifully groomed. These decent qualities were at the moment, why Varius was so upset with his targets blood dripping all over them. The back end of his new horse was now red and wet with blood. Quite annoying to say the least.

Apart from that though, there was little on Varius's mind that concerned him. In contrast to the cold night earlier, the day was bright and relatively warm for this time of the year, and although rain clouds were seen in the distance, Varius concluded that by the time he would meet them, he would be under an inn roof, besides a warm fire, and drinking a good flagon of brown ale.

So Varius rode on, encouraged by the prospect of having a relaxing night of nothing but a slow and constant consumption of alcohol, all paid with thanks to his new, dead friend. He eventually saw, in the not so far distance, the stone walls of the town he was heading for. He rode up to the gate, slamming his fist against the oak and iron gate so that someone on the other side may let him in.

"Who goes there?!" cried a voice from the other side.

"I require entrance into the town" replied Varius. Conversation was not wanted as of now.

"None may enter Wildegate without a proper purpose. Now I ask you again, who you are and what do you want?" replied the man from the other side.

"I have coin and little desire for trouble. Let me in!" While these questions were possibly being asked for security reasons, perhaps an attack on the town had occurred not too long ago, the notion that Varius was to be denied access while his intentions were, relatively, pure, was outrageous.

"I will do no such thing" said the voice.

"Listen friend, this choice of yours in which you deny me entry has all the makings of a soon to be bad day for you" Varius growled in response. Should he have to, he would scale the wall and force this man to grant him entry, guards or not, Varius would see this man open the gate for him, even if that meant he did so in tears.

"Look, I don't know who you think you are but I-"Then, before the voice could finish his sentence, a small gasp was heard and a series of incomprehensible whispers.

Varius could only remain there, sitting on his horse and wait to see what was happening. He continued to wait, looking at his surroundings in boredom. He noticed the rain clouds his had spotted earlier were fast approaching him. Though luckily for him, he would not see them reach him while in that spot as the gate was now being opened. What awaited him on the other side was a bearded man, most likely approaching his sixtieth decade.

"Well, well, well. I didn't think I would be seeing you here again! Come on in Varius" he said cheerily, obviously not being the same person as before.

"I don't think I know you" Varius said, feeling somewhat awkward in the case that he had just forgotten who this man was.

"Come now Varius, it has only been a few years." He said, still failing to make himself remembered to Varius.

"I'm sorry, I don't know you" Varius said bluntly, only interested in getting to an Inn.

"It's me! Roget! You didn't really think they would let someone else man the gate did you?" he said with a smile.

A few seconds then passed allowing Varius to remember back to the days he came here regularly. "But of course!" Varius proclaimed, now finally remembering the man. "It's been too long friend" he said happily.

"That it has. That it has…" Roget replied before a pause.

"This your son?" Varius said breaking the awkward silence and pointing towards a young man atop the gate, most likely the man who denied him entry.

"That he is!" Roget said proudly. "Following in his old man's footsteps, although not quite as….relaxed at the job as I was. As you just saw, the boy is quite dedicated to his work." Roget said in a way that Varius could now remember how many nights this old gatekeeper spent drinking. "Isn't that right boy!" Roget said, laughing up at his son, only to receive a grumble from the young lad.

"So Varius, pray tell. Why have you come to Wildegate on this fine day?" Roget said, leading Varius on his horse further into the town.

"I am here because of this fellow here" said Varius plainly, indicating towards the corpse on the back of his steed.

"Ah! I remember now you said you were looking for that type of work when you were here a few years back" Roget replied, eying the bagged body.

"That I did and quite the profitable type of work if I may add, when I actually get a contract of course!" Varius said.

"Well good on you lad!" bellowed the old man. "Though now you mention it, some well-dressed gentleman arrived not but a few hours ago. Said he was waiting for some criminal or whatever to be delivered to him. This fell 'a here wouldn't at all be that very criminal he speaks of would it?" Roget said slowly, pointing at the body.

"The one and only! This man you speak of is most likely an associate of the man who had his goods stolen." Varius said with glee, happy to know the associate was here already, a reward for Varius in hand.

"Well don't let me keep you Varius!" Roget replied stepping aside. "I'll see you in a bit".

"Indeed. I look forward to it" Varius replied, moving into the town with his two horses.

Wildegate.

A new town of sorts. Built, along with many more, by wealthy lords so that they may own productive land in this part of the north, just directly north of Fornost. It wasn't a town of great spender though. Larger than Bree but still mostly the same but with a strong stone wall.

As Varius rode past the storied wooden houses and Inns on his way to the Inn he had told the associate to meet him in, memories of his past visits came flooding back to him. Not but a few years back, when Varius was seeking adventures in the wild, this town was one that yielded such jobs. Being so far north, and so far from other major civilisation spots, wild related work was in plenty.

So as Varius reached the Inn, he entertained the thought of his next line of work. In just a few minutes he would have enough coin to probably live quite comfortably for the next few months but beyond that, Varius knew not.

"You! You the one who killed the criminal?" said a pompous, ignorant man just beside the Inn entrance.

"I am" Varius forced himself to say, hating interactions with those who deemed themselves more worthy than him.

"This the criminal?" he said walking up to Varius.

"It is" said Varius with little enthusiasm as he climbed of his horse, tying both the animals up to a past.

"Good! My lord does so hate it when scum steal from him. You would do well for remembering that, bounty hunter!" spat the man who now, Varius wanted to further test his new sword on.

"I'm no bounty hunter" Said Varius, grinding his teeth together and holding back the urge to swing his fist. "And Nestor is no Lord. Just a lot of money to his name" Varius said, referring to the man who poor old Duryn had stolen from.

"Hold your tongue filth. I won't allow you to taint my Lord's good name with your words" defended the man.

"I wasn't" sighed Varius, tired of this man's company.

"And you never will!" said the rather uptight man as he moved the body from Varius's horse to his own. With help from Varius of coarse. A man like him had probably never done any physical work in his life. "Here's your gold. Now be gone! Go and drink your life away, or whatever the common folk do with their miserable shells of life" the servant said, climbing atop his horse and riding away.

Varius could only shake his head, amazed at the ignorance among the upper classes. But for now, it mattered not. The man was right in one respect, Varius was going to drink, but not drink his life away. His life of comfort was just beginning in his opinion.

"What can I get ya?" said the large jolly innkeeper behind the bar as Varius entered.

"An Ale, and a good one at that" Varius replied without exchanging any glances with him, instead looking around the busy and candle lit Inn for a place to sit. "Food as well" Varius finished.

"We have a lovely meat pie if that interests you?" pleaded the man.

In this moment when Varius finally did exchange a glance with the innkeeper, a glance of somewhat disgust that the innkeeper would even dare offer him pie when Varius knew full well what kind of filth usually goes in them, the Innkeeper recoiled ever so slightly. Perhaps he noticed Varius's new sword hanging down from his waist, or perhaps the glare Varius gave was so full of annoyance the Innkeeper feared for his life without even seeing the sword, Varius knew not. The Innkeeper began to stutter and fall over his words, looking for a suitable apology.

"I-I-I suppose I could get you a leg of lamb with some potatoes, e-even if t-that isn't usually available for customers" the now frightened Innkeeper managed to say.

Varius moved over to the man, somewhat enjoying this easily achieved dominance he had over him. "Like that one there?" Varius said darkly, indicating to the meal behind the Innkeeper.

" Well that was for m-" But the Innkeeper was not so much the fool, and not so much the person who wanted a very angry and dangerous customer after him. "I'll bring it over to you in a moment" he said, taking the safe route and almost running to the meal in an attempt the get away from Varius who now, was sitting down.

"Here you go sir" squeaked a young and feminine voice, obviously not belonging to the Innkeeper.

"Thank you" Varius replied politely to the young girl, though actually disappointed that the Innkeeper was not man enough to face him again.

So Varius began to eat and drink, realising that the Innkeeper had yet to demand a payment. Something that Varius suspected would not be coming anytime soon.

For a few moments then, Varius enjoyed his solitarily, enjoying his meal. But it did not last.

"Oi!" shouted a man from a table behind him. "Your that Varius fellow aint ya?" the same man said again, clearly drunk.

"The one and only" said an unenthusiastic Varius, hardly wishing to converse with the intoxicated.

"I thought I knew ya! 'Ere Tom! Look at this why don't ya, it's that Varius fella" he shouted to a man nearby.

"Looks like your right Rob!" the man named Tom said. "You was the fella who killed that rebel leader weren't ya?" Tom said, equally drunk as his friend.

But in response to this question, Varius did not answer. This man was edging dangerously close to a past Varius did not wish to talk about. What had happened, had happened in Varius's opinion and bringing it back would only cause distress. And a broken nose if enquired further.

"Yeah, that's him" said the first drunk man, walking over to Varius who lowered his head in disinterest in the conversation." Also the same fella who was too much a coward to save that village weren't ya?"

"Shut your gob or ill fill it with my fist!" viciously replied Varius. This was not territory anyone would want to be in.

"Yeah? What's you gonna do hey?" the drunken fool said, laying his hand on Varius's shoulder. A bad move if there ever was one.

"Argh!" cried the man as Varius let the mans twisted wrist go "You rabid dog!" he spat as he stumbled around in pain. "Well?" he said, looking at his associates. "Get im!" with this, the man known as Tom and another drunken man stumbled forward, preparing to swing their fists.

The ensuring brawl was one of broken noses, cracked ribs and black eyes to name just a few. Serous wounds were not found that day, for Varius did think these men worth it. They could neither fight nor take pain without showing cowardice. It was not to soon when they broke off, tumbling out of the Inn in pain and utter shame. It was three upon one and yet Varius had sustained no wounds of great notice.

Once the trio of fools had ran off, Varius once again sat down, not caring for the confused faces of the rest of the Inn and the even more so terrified Innkeeper. It did not last however, the rest of the Inn quickly enough returned to either drinking, smoking or talking like nothing had ever happened while Varius finally got his chance to eat in relative peace.

Relatively.

"Of course it would have been you."

Varius closed his eyes and sighed. He did not immediately turn around for this voice was not unknown to him. Quite the opposite actually.

"Well you ignorant fool?" The voice was one belonging to a person similar to Varius's age. The voice was hoarse, sickly even and in every sense a displeasure to listen to.

"Why are you here?" responded Varius through gritted teeth, still not turning around to the man who was the final person Varius wished to meet.

"You need not know Varius." Sneered the man.

Varius sighed once again. Currently all he wanted was to sit down and enjoy his food which apparently was something that he could not do without someone challenging his personality. Some drunken idiots was one thing, even something to be expected, but this man, no. Were Varius had his way, he would have carved out a part of his brain just to forget this man, were that even possible.

"Look you little weasel." Varius said standing up and turning to the man who was just as Varius remembered. Like his pathetic, disgusting voice, his appearance was one that held hand in hand with it. The man of average height, if not a little smaller than Varius, but of weak build. His sharp and angular face was not one to be admired, dark stubble and spots were a constant feature of a face that could be mistaken for malnutrition. His dark hair was thick and greasy. Short but uncared for. "If I know you, which unfortunately I do, I know a little rat like creature such as you would not wonder too far away from his master. So tell me why you are here Merek?" Varius said intimidatingly.

"Calm yourself Varius" said a new voice. "Sit and finish your ale". Again this was no foreign voice to Varius. Another part of his history had just crept back up.

"Hello there Ulric, fancy seeing you here" sarcastically said Varius as he turned back around to find the late forty or so man standing beside his table. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" he continued, sitting down once more in conjunction with Ulric.

"I would like to talk" Ulric said bluntly, still the same personality that Varius remembered. Strong and honest.

"But of course! I was doing very little anyway" replied Varius.

"It did not look like it to me!" said the rat like Merek, stamping forward as intimidating as he could. "It seems to me that you are still the same ignorant troublemaker you were a few years back. Fighting in a bar. Definitely Varius"

Varius now remembered how much he always wanted to hit Merek.

"Hold your tongue Merek!" shouted his master. "He speaks some truth though Varius, fighting with drunken idiots is of no great worth" Ulric said with some authority.

"What is this? You finally meet me after, what? Three years? And immediately you start lecturing me! Be gone if this is your purpose. You did this enough in the past." Varius said to the balding man, allowing his scars to be more visibly seen, each telling a different story of his war filled past.

"No Varius. That is not why I am here. I have a proposition that may interest you" Ulric said with a sly smile.

"Well I care not for it. I am fairly busy currently" instantly dismissed Varius.

"Yes of course!" stepped forward Merek again. "Slaying low life criminals and drinking your life away. So very busy" laughed Merek.

"Are you still here you cretin?" Varius said, turning around to shout at the pathetic excuse for a human.

Merek pulled a face of disgust at Varius, and Ulric seemed displeased with the outburst but did not advance further on Varius's behaviour. "Away with you Merek" Ulric began. "Leave us to discuss matters" he finished as he, to Varius's relief, banished Merek for a while. "Now" Ulric said, looking back at Varius. "I have a proposition that may interest you" Ulric said, leaning forward.

"And what may that be?" asked a mostly uninterested Varius.

"There is need to…collect something" Ulric said hesitantly, choosing his words carefully.

"Collect something? Collect what?" Varius replied.

"Think of it as a book or manuscript." Was Ulric's reply.

"And why is it, pray tell, that you need me? Where is this book?" Varius replied. Someone of the likes Varius, with all his experience would not usually be chosen for such an errand. The location of this book was most likely hard to reach.

"Far to the east. Around Rhun preciously." Ulric replied quietly.

"Rhun? From the Easterlings?" asked Varius to no reply from Ulric. "It is isn't it?" again Varius received no answer, prompting the conclusion that this assumption was most likely true. But Ulric's hesitation was not yet clear. The Easterlings were far away and would, given the chance, slay anyone from the west, but this was not the reason behind Ulric's lack of an explanation. "This book, why is it needed? You have neither the interest for books nor the youth to go on such a journey. Someone has told you to relay this task to me. Who?" Again only silence from Ulric reigned supreme.

Ulric was a man of honesty. He would not deny Varius the truth. Whoever needed this book was someone who Ulric knew would have great impact on Varius. Nothing else could explain this.

"You have quite the…reputation among the….." But Ulric could not finish his sentence. He spoke of reputation, but the only reputation that Varius had the honour of having was far from good.

"Who Ulric?" Varius asked carefully, eagerly awaiting an answer.

"The southern Eriador lords. They have employed me to find such a person to-"Yet Ulric was cut off by Varius, who after hearing who was responsible for this, slammed his hand upon the table.

"But of course! Why worry with sending one of those among themselves to just make of fool of them and their fellow lords in front of the Easterlings when they can send someone whose reputation could not get any worse to do so?" Varius cried, immediately standing up and flinging his arms in anger. "Because when those men from Rhun decide to kill me, which they will with any man from the west, those pompous, fat lords will not have to worry about such an embarrassment of a relationship deterioration with the east as my death will only be the removal of a long had problem!" Varius continued to shout, prompting a few looks in which Varius could not care less for.

"Have you quite done?" asked Ulric once the heavy breathing from such an outburst had subsided.

"I will never, and that is the key word here, never associate myself with the politics of my own race. Or do you not remember what happened last time?" Varius said with vicious intent, staring down at a sat down Ulric.

Ulric chose not to respond. Instead his dark and weary eyes burrowed deep into Varius, his vast wealth of experience and wisdom shining through. He was not impressed in Varius's outburst, regardless of his reasons, which to Varius, were well justified. The world of politics was not one of words and otherwise boring meetings. That was Varius's initial impression years ago, and he paid for it dearly.

Were it not for his involvement in his so called adventures back then, his reputation would probably not be so severe for him. Constantly the mistakes and memories of the past dwelled upon him. Keeping him awake at night and regretting in the day. His life was not the same ever since then.

"Do not make the mistake that you were the only one affected back then Varius" Ulric said in a calm albeit serious tone, never once removing his gaze from Varius.

"So the problem extends to both of us then, which comes as no great surprise, as if I recall, the problems of the past only occurred because you approached me like you do toda-" Varius attempted to say, shortly interrupted when Ulric's knife landed perfectly in-between his fingers which lay flat on the table.

"You ignorant little child! You can complain and make every other attempt to ensure the painful past is brought up yet again, but you will not be denying a duty that extends far over your need to sit around and hunt petty criminals!" Ulric growled through his teeth leaving a rather stunned Varius who, after laying low for so long, was quite unused to such orders. "The consequences of this task, should it fail, would be catastrophic for the North"

Varius paused, knowing full well when his former mentor and friend was this serious, the matter should not be taken lightly. And yet in abandoning his current low profile life, Varius faced the risk of once again having his life destroyed in front of him.

"But why me?" pleaded Varius "Why must you drag me into situations that do not concern me? Is it impossible for me to just have a normal life?"

Ulric sighed, somewhat sympathetically. "Look my friend, I've known you long enough and we have been through too much together in the past so you deserve the truth. What we need you to do is not simply finding a book for academic use, no. This task plays a small part in something much larger" Ulric said increasingly quietly to Varius's great curiosity. "I said failure in this quest should resort in consequences for the North yes?" to which Varius nodded in reply. "Well this book, should it be acquired, would allow some leverage of sorts in our current situation".

"And what is our current situation?" Varius leaned in asking.

"The North is on the edge of a knife. We are a fragmented and unstable land. With you hiding this far to the north you would not know of the great danger of what the Nobles and Lords are planning". Ulric's tone became ever increasingly serious with this news, his eyes now scanning around to ensure only Varius was hearing what Ulric had to say. "For the last decade, as you know, the North has been run collectively by the rich and the powerful, each following a figure head of sorts. A Steward almost. But the lords of the lands are scheming, planning ways to elevate their position and ensure the North is being ruled by those who they desire which in most cases, is themselves."

"And this book, how will it aid the situation?" inquired Varius, slowly being absorbed into what Ulric was saying.

"Like I said. Leverage. Were we to have this book, it will allow us to ensure a temporary truce between the Lords. Its contents would allow us to have a much louder voice throughout the land" Ulric said as Varius could have sworn he saw a smile merging on Ulric's lips.

"You speak as if you were part of this situation. Are you working for one of these Lords?" Varius asked carefully. Varius knew Ulric to be too honourable and wise to fall into this political mess, but he had to be sure.

"I do indeed work with a Lord, Varius. He considers me an equal in his ambitions." Ulric said rather confidently.

"Which are?" Varius asked.

"Peace. Should we leave the North to its own doings, we would only be faced with a separated North and a land of war and misery. Have you not entertained the thought of what would happen should this situation be ignored? Rebellion, war, genocide and civil unrest to name a few. Tens of thousands will perish and the North will have no chance of reuniting again. Only several new Kingdoms fighting amongst themselves and being led by selfish and dangerous men who would see the world burn if it meant their power increasing. We just wish to allow peace to reign across the North so that we may focus on more real threats that none of these infighting lords see." Said a passionate Ulric.

"Real threats?" asked an engaged Varius.

"You think that the rest of Middle earth is just content in watching us destroy ourselves? Should we allow our great land to deteriorate so much, the other races of the world will seize the chance to take advantage of our fragile situation, and seek to control us. This is what the Elves seek to do. We have intelligence that should the North continue to break apart, they will not waste any time occupying the North so that they can rule over us." Varius could now see the very real concern Ulric had for the North.

"Would the Elves do that? Surely they have no concern of what the lands of Men get up to." Varius said, not at all remembering an Elf that concerned him or herself for the happenings of Humans.

"Given a legitimate reason they would. Yes, they would lie and say they wish for only peace and stability across the North. But once they have invaded and controlled the entire land, they will not bother with the courtesy of lying to us so that we may welcome their occupation. They see us as rivals, nothing more, and when they see their rivals in such a mess they can just walk in with promises of assistance and peace, they can ensure the Men in the North can never compare to them again." Ulric finally finished.

Varius contemplated what Ulric had just said. Throughout his travels in the north, Varius was not a stranger to the mess that was the North, knowing full well the greed and lust for power that each lord inherited, but the possibility that some lord's greed may expand to such an amount in that it causes civil war was an aspect that Varius found difficult to believe. Furthermore so was the inclusion of other races in this.

Ulric had spoken well, like he always did. For that much Varius could respect him. Throughout his past, Varius had always had the pleasure of having Ulric to guide him. Ulric was like a father to him. Encouraging Varius to do better, giving advice and being some sort of a hero to Varius, in his eyes. And yet, because Ulric had spoken so well, because he spoke with the usual passion and belief to Varius and because Ulric was concerning himself in such matters, Varius was left confused. Mixing with political matters was not something common within Ulric's life and the distrust and fear he spoke towards the Elves was even more so shocking. Racial hatred was not a quality Varius expected to associate Ulric with.

The urge to deny the task Ulric had given Varius was high. There was little that Varius could think of that justified this quest and yet, Ulric was the only person in Varius's life that had successfully guided him through the darkness that would have surely taken him, were it not for Ulric. This father figure had spoken so passionately and with such conviction it was most likely the case that, while Varius did not see the point in it, this task was the right thing to do.

"I-I-I don't- I'm not" stuttered Varius, the conflict to accept or deny this task continuing within him.

"Stop" Ulric said, raising a hand to keep Varius from talking. "This is only a decision that you can make." He said as he stood up. "Should you accept to do this then you will need this" Ulric continued as he placed a sack full of objects upon the table. "It has everything you will need. Maps, items of identification to name a few" Ulric said to a still undecided Varius.

"Ulric I-"Varius began before being cut off once more.

"I need not hear it. The task I have set upon will require thought, for once you set foot upon this new path, there will be no going back until you fully walk it." So Varius continued to think upon an answer.

Yes, he could just say yes, quite easily in fact. He could easily discard the empty husk of a life he currently inhabited and choose one of proper adventure, just like he thought he had chosen all those years ago. It was a decision that could allow history to repeat itself for Varius, or it could be his final chance to experience what the world had to offer.

"Listen Varius, you have been living a life of relative comfort for these past years, only experiencing challenge and action when you earn coin. What I offer you is hard, and you will once again step into the unknown" Ulric said in what was supposedly meant to be an attempt to convince Varius to accept.

"You're really selling it to me old friend" Varius replied sarcastically, a small smirk escaping his lips. Yet the truth of Varius's feelings towards this were the complete opposite. He could have never anticipated such a difficult decision just a few hours ago.

"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not" laughed Ulric "But it was you who once said to me that the only aim in life was to leave in impact. Something that would echo throughout eternity. Something that would make life worth living. Is your life worth living Varius?" Ulric asked, prompting Varius to immediately shoot up his head, not because he interpreted this as an insult, but because these words, that Varius himself had once said, had been empty as the sky itself these past years. Varius had betrayed himself.

"You'll have a story or two to tell should you regain your ambition. You have always had the potential to be part of something great, and your only barrier to this, is yourself." Ulric said slowly as he turned around to leave.

"You will need to head south first, should you accept this quest. The east is too dangerous a path to take. Head to the location on the map I have given you." Ulric said with little emotion before promptly beginning to leave with Merek in tow leaving a hard at thought Varius to stare blankly at the sack he had been given.

"And Varius." Ulric said to Varius just before leaving the Inn. "Good luck. In whichever life you choose" Ulric said as he left the Inn.

As the minutes went on, Varius sat motionless. A statue in a place of noise and commotion. And for the first time in a long time, Varius felt the pain of something he did not expect to feel in a life such as this. He felt lonely.

Not from the lack of social interaction. Varius was not so much the hermit that came with such a strain of loneliness. Varius felt that, now already, his life was devoid of signs of the same word. His life had nothing, even in his young age he had no purpose, no aim. Nothing.

And it was all something he had brought upon himself. The past was not a ubiquitous and unceasing curse upon him, but it was something that had still occurred, and for the worst.

The more Varius thought upon it, this current choice in life that Varius had chosen so that the past may never repeat itself, was the root of this current predicament. He had lost all ambition living in it. It had only given to Varius fear of anything else. Ulric's last words made perfect sense now. He was not wishing Varius luck in this trip to the east and all that followed doing that, despite its danger. The luck where Ulric's wished it for was the life that Varius lived now. The longer he lived it, the more luck he would need to escape the hole he was digging himself into, every time he descended into it the less chance he had to desire another life.

So now Varius had another gamble to make. Risk accepting this task and fall prey to the mistakes of the past again, in one way or another, or risk life as it was now, to see in many years to come what a life he lived. For Varius, it would not be one of peace and ease that many experience from a similar position, but instead misery, regret and foolishness.

And so, Varius made his decision. Despite the time separating Varius from it, he knew how this would all end. He knew, in his final moments, what a life he had lived. The goals and things had must do were sketched down for him, as vague as they were, they were about to dictate how the major aspects of his future were going to affect him and others.

The world was ahead.

His new life, had now begun.

* * *

**Thanks for reading!**

**I hope this chapter successfully achieved what it set out to be which in this case was introduce Varius and in a lesser from, Ulric. I really wanted this chapter to allow enough to be told about Varius especially so that you kind of know what type of person he is, and how he sees the world. Of course we will see his character develop and change but for now, hopefully, you know who he is.**

**Now this introduction to the main plot is done, we can get along with the main storyline and everything that spans from it thanks to a change in lifestyle from Varius.**

**Once again thanks for reading, and I hope the next chapter won't take so long to upload. (Uni life was unfair in letting me have time to type).**

**If I could just ask you to review to say how you like the story so far, and what you think of what's been typed, I would appreciate it so much. I have never had so much feedback in the past for my other stories so I need to know how you, the readers are seeing this story and what you expect from it.**

**Until next time!**


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